US Patent No: 7,937,330
Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000
System and method for optimization of group shipments to reduce shipping costs
Stats
-
May 3, 2011
Issued date -
Jan 15, 2009
filing date -
12/354,692
serial no -
In Force
status
Importance
Loading Importance Indicators...
Abstract
Described herein is a method and system to provide optimizing shipping costs that can help arbitrate between a precise solution at an unreasonable cost and a reasonable solution at a very reasonable cost. In one embodiment, a first shipping option is generated to deliver shipments to a first sub-set of recipients within a first time period, and to deliver shipments to a second sub-set of recipients within a second time period that is greater than the first time period, with the shipments to the second sub-set of recipients being a greater distance than shipments to the first sub-set of recipients. The first shipping option provides a cost of shipping savings relative to shipping to all of the recipients within the first time period. The generating of the first shipping option includes selecting the second sub-set of recipients to include a quantity of recipients to provide a cost of shipping savings equal or greater to a predetermined percentage.
Loading the Abstract Image...
First Claim
Related Publications
Loading Related Publications...
International Classification(s)
- [Classification Symbol]
- [Patents Count]
Cited Art
| Patent Info | (Count) | # Cites | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| 5,832,451 Automated travel service management information system | 156 | 1996 | |
| 5,839,114 Automated system for selecting an initial computer reservation system | 48 | 1996 | |
| 6,018,715 Automated travel planning system | 99 | 1996 | |
| 6,119,094 Automated system for identifying alternate low-cost travel arrangements | 55 | 1996 | |
| 6,839,679 Automated travel pricing system | 26 | 1996 | |
| 7,302,399 Method and system for processing travel reservation data | 21 | 1999 | |
| 7,272,626 E-service management through distributed correlation | 11 | 2001 | |
| 2003/0078,800 Method and apparatus for the selection of a service provider | 8 | 2002 | |
| 2005/0138,175 Method and system using admission control in interactive grid computing systems | 38 | 2003 | |
| 2006/0143,087 Restaurant management using network with customer-operated computing devices | 12 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,660,743 System for optimization of cost management | 7 | 2004 | |
| 7,596,566 System and method for flexible handling of rules and regulations in labor hiring | 3 | 2005 | |
| 7,496,520 System and method for optimization of group shipments to reduce shipping costs | 7 | 2005 | |
| 2006/0190,314 Method and system for testing of policies to determine cost savings | 29 | 2005 | |
| 2008/0004,964 Method and systems for personal restaurant assistant | 6 | 2006 | |
| 2008/0091,481 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC REVIEW OF TRAVEL CHANGES AND IMPROVED SUGGESTIONS AND RULES SET | 7 | 2006 | |
| 2009/0006,142 System and Method for Tracking Spending Based on Reservations and Payments | 6 | 2007 | |
| 2010/0191,572 Systems and Methods to Use Rules and Constraints for Service Consolidation | 3 | 2009 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,331,546 Trip planner optimizing travel itinerary selection conforming to individualized travel policies | 150 | 1991 | |
| 7,228,313 Ticket tracking and refunding system and method | 8 | 1999 | |
| 2003/0110,062 System and method for airline purchasing program management | 11 | 2002 | |
| 7,499,864 Integrated travel industry system | 7 | 2002 | |
| 2003/0177,045 System and method for processing trip requests | 11 | 2003 | |
| 7,539,620 System and method for facilitating transactions among consumers and providers of travel services | 11 | 2003 | |
| 7,548,615 Rate validation system and method | 7 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,319,542 System for ordering items using an electronic catalogue | 487 | 1990 | |
| 6,029,144 Compliance-to-policy detection method and system | 166 | 1997 | |
| 6,715,073 Secure server using public key registration and methods of operation | 30 | 1998 | |
| 6,816,882 System and method for automatically negotiating license agreements and installing arbitrary user-specified applications on application service providers | 103 | 2000 | |
| 6,959,327 System and method for dispatching and scheduling network transmissions with feedback | 25 | 2000 | |
| 6,701,311 Customer self service system for resource search and selection | 83 | 2001 | |
| 2006/0101,467 Process execution management based on resource requirements and business impacts | 9 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2005/0165,629 Systems and methods for planning the delivery of goods | 14 | 2004 | |
| 2007/0038,566 Method and system for generating an automatic authorization | 12 | 2004 | |
| 2005/0033,631 Systems and methods for providing benchmark services to customers | 12 | 2004 | |
| 2005/0197,913 Method for OTB allocation to order period in a purchase order system | 16 | 2004 | |
| 2005/0197,915 Method of and system for processing purchase orders | 19 | 2004 | |
| 2005/0216,375 Method and system for flexible budgeting in a purchase order system | 18 | 2005 | |
| 2007/0156,546 Reconciliation method and apparatus | 5 | 2005 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0044,556 System and method for a planner and an accounting user interface for a planner | 14 | 2003 | |
| 2004/0044,644 System and method for a planner | 9 | 2003 | |
| 2004/0044,673 System and method for a planner and a deduplicating planner | 8 | 2003 | |
| 2004/0044,681 System and method for a planner and a fax server planner | 9 | 2003 | |
| 2005/0120,052 System and method for a planner | 9 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,852,812 Billing system for a network | 442 | 1995 | |
| 5,893,077 Method and apparatus for generating and collecting a billing event object within an on-line network | 199 | 1995 | |
| 2006/0123,088 System and method for replicating offline scheduling transactions from a client to a server | 7 | 2004 | |
| 7,490,122 Methods for and applications of learning and inferring the periods of time until people are available or unavailable for different forms of communication, collaboration, and information access | 10 | 2005 | |
| 2005/0132,006 Methods for and applications of learning and inferring the periods of time until people are available or unavailable for different forms of communication, collaboration, and information access | 14 | 2005 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,799,286 Automated activity-based management system | 183 | 1995 | |
| 6,295,521 Travel planning system | 50 | 1998 | |
| 6,377,932 Rules validation for travel planning system | 46 | 1998 | |
| 7,562,027 Availability processing in a travel planning system | 3 | 1999 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,272,568 System and method for matching an offer with a quote | 6 | 2000 | |
| 2003/0036,930 Method and system for creating travel packages | 38 | 2001 | |
| 2003/0036,981 System and method for managing inventory | 8 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2002/0059,092 Behavior data fee collection system | 10 | 2001 | |
| 2002/0120,478 Service management program, method, and apparatus for hotel facilities | 6 | 2002 | |
| 2004/0049,413 Apparatus, method, and computer program for reservation of accommodation | 7 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,050,986 System for corporate traveler planning and travel management | 58 | 1997 | |
| 6,442,526 System for corporate travel planning and management | 94 | 1999 | |
| 2006/0212,321 System for corporate travel planning and management | 21 | 2006 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,222,084 System and method for automatic pricing of remotely hosted applications | 12 | 2002 | |
| 2006/0037,016 Methods and systems for modifying nodes in a cluster environment | 19 | 2004 | |
| 2006/0224,423 Transportation planning with parallel optimization | 11 | 2005 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0120,526 System and method for managing booking and expensing of travel products and services | 41 | 2002 | |
| 2004/0167,808 System and method for integrated travel and expense management | 11 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 2002/0095,347 Network-based method and system for selecting shipping carrier | 14 | 2001 | |
| 2002/0152,101 Travel expense management module for an intranet portal | 29 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2002/0143,677 Baseline cost savings analysis | 8 | 2001 | |
| 6,980,885 Routing shipments according to criticality | 9 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,206,768 Electronic multiparty accounts receivable and accounts payable system | 100 | 2000 | |
| 2005/0182,713 Methods and systems for the auto reconsideration of credit card applications | 9 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,058,375 Accounting processor and method for automated management control system | 122 | 1997 | |
| 2003/0191,725 Availability based value creation method and system | 8 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,237,499 Computer travel planning system | 319 | 1991 | |
| 2004/0153,348 Internet-based computer travel planning system | 14 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,401,029 Tool for analyzing corporate airline bids | 6 | 2001 | |
| 2005/0043,985 System and methods for evaluating opportunities | 4 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,023,679 Pre- and post-ticketed travel reservation information management system | 95 | 1996 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,194,417 Automated method and system for recognizing unfulfilled obligations and initiating steps to convert said obligations to a fulfilled status or to a null status for resale | 22 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 2001/0051,917 System integrating credit card transactions into a financial management system | 79 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0210,487 Clearance system | 7 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,411,940 Internet billing method | 16 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,622,084 Travel route planner system and method | 19 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,587,370 Electronic bartering system | 22 | 2006 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,236,957 Method for remotely authorizing a payment transaction file over an open network | 7 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2007/0005,406 Event scheduling | 11 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0143,522 System, computer product and method for web-enabled accounting | 5 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,315,824 Internet printing by hotel guests | 9 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0040,987 Global travel reporting system and method | 13 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2002/0156,687 Method and apparatus for dynamically maintaining and executing data definitions and/or business rules for an electronic procurement system | 17 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,599,877 Methods and systems for collateral matching and mark to market reconcilement | 6 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 2005/0273,345 In-restaurant automated meal ordering by customers | 12 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2006/0283,935 Systems and methods for processing commercial transactions | 9 | 2006 | |
|
|
|||
| 2006/0059,021 Independent adjuster advisor | 7 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0002,876 System, method and computer program product for on-line travel and expense management | 8 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,655,008 System and method for performing a variety of transactions having distributed decision-making capability | 51 | 1995 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,477,520 Adaptive travel purchasing optimization system | 57 | 1999 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,870,721 System and method for real time loan approval | 494 | 1996 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,948,040 Travel reservation information and planning system | 925 | 1997 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0044,600 Cost management for a distributed computing environment | 11 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,451,106 System and method for competitive pricing and procurement of customized goods and services | 33 | 1999 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,006,986 Order file processes for purchasing on the internet using verified order information | 13 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,363,242 Internet based airline ticket purchasing and vacation planning system and method | 6 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2005/0033,616 Travel management system providing customized travel plan | 27 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0149,653 Method and apparatus for conducting financial transactions | 65 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0073,615 Apparatus, methods, and articles of manufacture for contstructing and maintaining a calendaring interface | 44 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,206,763 Method and system for commodity-based currency for payment of accounts | 11 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 2007/0174,154 Methods and systems for aligning business interests | 7 | 2005 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,847,988 Service providing system and method which divides a request into plural service requests and provides an integrated service based on service utilization history information in response to the request | 24 | 1999 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0046,195 Expense management system and method | 60 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0249,684 Hotel/transportation reservation mechanism | 10 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,842,737 Travel information method and associated system | 37 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 2002/0010,612 Method and system for managing spending through account allocation | 18 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,457,950 Managed authentication service | 10 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,139,728 Systems and methods for online selection of service providers and management of service accounts | 37 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0260,603 Electronic purchasing method | 7 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 2006/0259,335 Travel product inventory and rate management system and method | 6 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 2006/0100,909 Providing standardized medical triage | 8 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,230,204 Method and system for estimating usage of computer resources | 52 | 1997 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,711,548 Distributed computer network air travel scheduling system and method | 22 | 1999 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,136,821 Method and apparatus for the composition and sale of travel-oriented packages | 30 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,379,890 System and method for profit maximization in retail industry | 44 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,904,411 Multi-processing financial transaction processing system | 12 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 2006/0010,023 System, method and computer program product for managing meeting planning operations | 20 | 2005 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,991,742 Time and expense logging system | 63 | 1996 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,574,372 Methods and apparatus for managing a tour product purchase | 3 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,080,096 Housing space-related commodity sale assisting system, housing space-related commodity sale assisting method, program for assisting housing space-related commodity sale, and computer-readable recorded medium on which program for assisting housing space-related commodity sale is recorded | 17 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,076,451 System and method for providing lodging reservations data | 12 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 2001/0003,815 Internet-based information retrieval service system | 6 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,571,213 Router utility for a parcel shipping system | 78 | 1999 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,897,620 Method and apparatus for the sale of airline-specified flight tickets | 390 | 1997 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0023,463 Method and system for automatically planning, booking, and calendaring travel arrangements | 36 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,570,283 Corporate travel controller | 153 | 1994 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0182,413 System and method for selecting a service provider | 34 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,832,453 Computer system and method for determining a travel scheme minimizing travel costs for an organization | 53 | 1994 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0229,529 Method for enterprise workforce planning | 113 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,191,523 System for synthesizing travel cost information | 112 | 1989 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0193,457 Travel cost management system | 11 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 2002/0103,693 System and method for aggregating and analyzing feedback | 22 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,959,298 Method and system for accessing travel services | 14 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0249,745 System and method for automatically adjudicating transactions involving an account reserved for qualified spending | 48 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 2005/0288,973 System and method for changing a travel itinerary | 8 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,117,170 Apparatus, systems and methods for applying billing options for multiple carriers for online, multi-carrier, multi-service parcel shipping management | 37 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,195,420 Hotel check-out system | 47 | 1996 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,475,740 System for accessing and paying for amenities using a telephone | 86 | 1993 | |
|
|
|||
| 2005/0065,821 Method for competitive prescription drug and/or bidding service provider selection | 17 | 2004 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,732,398 Self-service system for selling travel-related services or products | 321 | 1995 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,363,267 Contingency-based options and futures for contingent travel accommodations | 23 | 2000 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0034,593 Electronic business monitoring system | 12 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 2003/0105,711 Authorizing financial transactions | 24 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,070,798 Purchaser generated transaction recording and negotiable instrument payment system | 208 | 1997 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,304,850 Computer-implemented system and method for booking airline travel itineraries | 108 | 1999 | |
|
|
|||
| 2005/0004,830 System and method for indexing travel accommodations in a network environment | 7 | 2003 | |
|
|
|||
| 2008/0319,808 Travel Monitoring | 11 | 2005 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,388,495 Integrated electronic article surveillance (EAS) and point of sale (POS) system and method | 10 | 2006 | |
|
|
|||
| 2002/0111,886 Payment management | 72 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,987,425 Variable margin pricing system | 86 | 1997 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,819,092 Online service development tool with fee setting capabilities | 432 | 1997 | |
|
|
|||
| 7,356,516 Method and system for facilitating electronic dispute resolution | 26 | 2002 | |
|
|
|||
| 2004/0260,601 System and method for internet based procurement of goods and services | 20 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 6,961,773 System and method for managing application service providers | 16 | 2001 | |
|
|
|||
| 5,842,178 Computerized quotation system and method | 432 | 1998 | |
| 6,965,868 System and method for promoting commerce, including sales agent assisted commerce, in a networked economy | 144 | 2000 | |
| 2002/0184,102 Selling price information in e-commerce | 9 | 2001 | |
| 2003/0050,879 System and method for improved multiple real-time balancing and straight through processing of security transactions | 44 | 2001 | |
| 2003/0236,722 Methods and apparatus for reserving a block of hotel rooms on short notice | 8 | 2002 | |
| 2003/0200,111 Process for determining optimal packaging and shipping of goods | 40 | 2003 | |
| 2005/0043,996 System and method for managing restaurant customer data elements | 25 | 2003 | |
| 2004/0117,275 Telephony-based inventory access system especially well suited to accessing of inventories in the travel industry | 16 | 2003 | |
| 2005/0108,069 System and a method for prefetching travel information | 13 | 2003 | |
| 2004/0143,498 Service supporting system, service supporting server and service supporting method | 7 | 2003 | |
| 2005/0108,153 Multiparty transaction system | 16 | 2004 | |
| 2005/0060,271 Non-subjective valuing | 10 | 2004 | |
| 2007/0239,548 Method and system for determination of portioned fees for a multiplicity of entities acquiring under a single invoice | 6 | 2006 | |
| 2006/0241,966 VENDING MACHINE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENCOURAGING THE PURCHASE OF PROFITABLE ITEMS | 6 | 2006 | |
| 2007/0043,651 Method and system for grouping merchandise, services and users and for trading merchandise and services | 18 | 2006 | |
| 2007/0273,499 Real-time multi-component web based travel safety system and method | 14 | 2007 | |
| 2008/0065,408 Booking method and system | 6 | 2007 | |
Patent Citation Ranking
Maintenance Fees
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee | due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Year Payment | $1600.00 | $800.00 | $400.00 | Nov 3, 2014 |
| 7.5 Year Payment | $3600.00 | $1800.00 | $900.00 | Nov 3, 2018 |
| 11.5 Year Payment | $7400.00 | $3700.00 | $1850.00 | Nov 3, 2022 |
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surcharge - 3.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge - 7.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge - 11.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unavoidable | $700.00 | $350.00 | $175.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unintentional | $1,640.00 | $820.00 | $410.00 |